Nikana

The Nikana reintroduces a lost Tenno blade and with it another fragment of the old ways. Built as a melee / generalist option for squad clear and mission pressure.

Signature

Nikana is not a signature weapon — any frame can use it without a signature passive.

When to Pick

• You want a Melee that fits a melee / generalist play pattern.
• Your loadout needs what Nikana does well — check Mission Usefulness below before investing Forma.
• You’re ready to Catalyze / Forma it if you plan to main it on Steel Path.

• Normal Attack

  Impact 7.1 · Slash 120.7 · Puncture 14.2

  Crit 16% / 2× · Status 16% · Fire Rate 0.92

• Slam Attack

  Impact 284

  AoE · Crit 16% / 2× · Status 10% · Fire Rate 0.92 · Falloff 0–6m (−50%)

• Heavy Slam Attack

  Blast 426

  AoE · Crit 16% / 2× · Status 10% · Fire Rate 0.92 · Falloff 0–7m (−30%)

• Normal Attack: Impact 7.1, Slash 120.7, Puncture 14.2.
• Slam Attack (AoE): Impact 284.0.
• Heavy Slam Attack (AoE): Blast 426.0.

Permanent investments on this weapon copy — separate from the Prime variant.

• Orokin CatalystCapacity

  Doubles mod capacity so endgame builds fit.

  Usually the first permanent upgrade on a weapon you plan to main.

• FormaPolarity

  Adds or changes polarities so matching mods cost half capacity.

  expect multiple Forma for a hungry config.

• Stance / Exilus (as applicable)Slot

  Unlocks utility options (Exilus on guns; melee focuses on stance polarity + utility mods).

  Install when you need ammo, handling, or QoL without sacrificing damage slots.

• Melee Arcane AdapterArcane

  Lets you install a weapon arcane for a strong passive bonus.

  Worth it once the base mod config is already solid.

• Riven ModRiven

  Unique rolled mod. Disposition 0.95.

  Chase clean desirable stats; skip awkward negatives on low-disposition weapons.

• Nikana PrimeVariant

  The primed version — stronger stats and usually better polarities.

  Upgrade path when relics/parts are available.

Common building blocks for this gun — not a full ranked build, just the mods you’ll see most often.

• Blood Rush

  Crit Chance

  Scales crit with combo — the backbone of most crit melee builds.

• Weeping Wounds

  Status Chance

  Scales status with combo for Condition Overload style setups.

• Condition Overload

  Condition Damage

  Huge damage when the target already has status effects.

• Organ Shatter

  Crit Damage

  Standard crit-damage multiplier for Blood Rush crit melees.

• Primed Pressure Point / Pressure Point

  Base Damage

  Flat damage foundation before multipliers.

• Berserker Fury

  Attack Speed

  On-crit attack speed to keep the combo climbing.

• Range mods (Reach / Primed Reach)

  Range

  Helps pack clear and heavy-attack coverage.

• Elemental dual-stats

  Elemental

  Viral + Heat or Corrosive + Heat depending on the tileset.

Multishot

Melee doesn’t use multishot — invest in range, combo, and attack speed instead.

Critical

Blood Rush + crit damage is the classic crit melee route when base crit is workable.

Elemental

Viral/Heat or Corrosive/Heat dual-stats after your damage and conditioner mods.

Fire Rate

Attack speed (Berserker Fury / Primed Fury) keeps combo stacks rising.

Check the How to Get table for blueprint / part drop sources.